MRPL plans new projects worth up to Rs 15,000 crore

MANGALURU: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) has lined up projects worth up to Rs 15,000 crore in coming years, which include a raw petroleum coke gas complex.

MRPL Managing Director H Kumar said in a release the company intended to produce 'Syngas' (synthetic gas) and subsequently to produce value-added chemicals, such as urea (fertiliser), acetic acid, acryilate among others and production of linear alkyl benzene (LAB) - a feed stock to produce detergents.

Director (Refineries) M Venkatesh said MRPL had to upgrade facilities in the wake of the Centre's autofuel upgradation policy to produce BS VI grade fuel by April 2020.

This would greatly help reduce environment pollution caused by automobile emissions, but additional land would be required to set up the same.

MRPL would also have to enhance refining capacity to 18 to 21 million tonnes per year to meet increasing fuel demand.

Land to be acquired for the purpose was spread across four villages and most of which was being acquired was dry land, including government land and not agriculture land.

The land to rehabilitate displaced persons was being acquired in Mulur and Yekkar as per directions issued by the state government, the release said.

A total of 75.2 per cent of land owners in four villages, owning 80 per cent land, have given their consent to acquire land for Phase IV expansion of the refinery.

The package would also include providing employment to displaced persons, he said, adding that MRPL had provided employment to 538 people so far who had lost land for earlier MRPL projects.

MRPL would also take up afforestation activities both at 27 acres of buffer zone and at Pilikula, the release said.